More Than Friends
by Redvelvetunicorns
Summary: Daryl and Carol realise why their past relationships never worked out - College AU


It was almost one in the morning when Daryl received the phone call, Carol his best friend had been dumped again. Despite being in bed almost asleep already and knowing that he had a class early that morning he hadn't hesitated to get dressed, arm himself with as much alcohol he could fit in his bag and jump on his bike to go and comfort her.

They had always been close since childhood. She had been there with him through every childhood adventure, every family drama, every bad break up, anytime he was feeling even a little bit down she was there and he was for her.

He hadn't liked her latest boyfriend Zeke, a drama student. Daryl always said he was too loud, too over the top, thought far too highly of himself. He didn't know what Carol saw in him, he didn't know what she saw in any of her boyfriends, in his opinion she had terrible taste but who was he to judge, none of his past relationships had exactly turned out to be great choices.

He arrived at her dorm and let himself in, she was sat on her bed watching some talk show on tv, he couldn't read her expression but she didn't look like she had been crying so that was a good start.

"Hey," he grunted throwing himself down on the bed next to her.

"Hey," she replied quietly.

"So what happened?" He asked as he took a beer from his rucksack and handed it to her.

She took the can from him and shrugged pausing as if she was thinking carefully about her response, "There's someone else."

"He was cheatin on ya?" Daryl asked outraged. "That son of a bitch, when I see him I'm gonna-"

"Daryl don't," she pleaded as he looked at her in disbelief, he couldn't understand why she was being so calm, when Ed had cheated on her she had raised hell. She shuffled closer to him on the bed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Just help me get good and drunk so I don't have to think about this tonight okay?"

He nodded and kissed the crown of her head before opening himself a beer and settling back with his arm around her, his thumb rubbing comforting circles across the soft skin of her bicep. They spent the next few hours talking about everything but relationships, they ordered pizza and drank enough that they were both now feeling a pleasant buzz.

Daryl glanced over at her as she laughed at the movie on tv, he loved watching her laugh, the way her smile lit up her whole face always caused his heart to speed up. How could anybody cheat on her? In his eyes she was perfect. Of course she was beautiful, anyone could see that, but she was also the kindest, most incredible person he knew and she never failed to make him smile. Anyone would be lucky to have her.

"Seriously though fuck that guy," Daryl blurted out suddenly. "He didn't know how fuckin' good he had it."

"Daryl-" she started, her face dropping at the subject returning to her failed relationship.

"No Carol the guy's a jackass, I mean how could he do that to ya?"

She sighed heavily, sitting up straight and dragging her hands down over her face. "He didn't. He's not the one with someone else."

Daryl stared at her in confusion, there's no way she could've been seeing someone behind Zeke's back, that just wasn't the Carol he had known practically his whole life.

"You cheated on him?" He asked completely dumbfounded.

"No! No of course not I'd never cheat on someone," she snapped defensively.

"Then what are ya talkin' about? " Daryl carefully lifted her chin and forced her to look at him, she seemed conflicted.

"It's you," she breathed barely above a whisper.

Daryl froze unsure how to respond to her confession. "But we're not-"

"I know," she interrupted. "He just didn't like my relationship with you. I told him I didn't want to be with someone who couldn't cope with how much you meant to me, and so he left."

Daryl understood that part, he had had similar comments from a lot of his past girlfriends but he never mentioned any of it to Carol unsure how to even deal with it himself.

"He's not the first one who's said it," she continued. "That was part of the reason it didn't work out with Tobin either. I wasn't gonna say anything tonight because I haven't wrapped my head around it all yet but since we're here I might as well just say it."

He waited silently for her to carry on, he had an idea where this conversation was heading but he wanted to be sure before he blurted anything else out.

"Zeke said something right before he left that got me thinking. He said that's always how it goes isn't it, everybody can see how much two people are meant to be together except the two people themselves." He was staring at her so intently that she had to look away, her gaze drifting down to where she was nervously playing with the tab of the beer can in her lap.

"And then I realised it. We may only be young but when I think of my future, about having a family and growing old the only person I can picture by my side is you. We're more than friends Daryl and you fucking know it."

He did know it. And hearing her say the words out loud had all sorts of butterflies going wild in his stomach. His silence was starting to make her think she had made a big mistake.

"Okay you've really gotta say something-" she began but was cut off by his lips crashing into hers. She gasped at the action and he gently held her face for a moment until he felt her start to kiss him back, and when she did it was like everything suddenly fell into place. Every other relationship he had where it felt like something was missing all made sense, every doubt and worry he ever had about the future just melted away at the feel of her soft lips moving eagerly against his.

She grabbed a fist full of his shirt and dragged him up the bed until he was laying on top of her between her open thighs, never once breaking the connection. Dipping his tongue inside her mouth he ran his hands underneath her shirt up the smooth skin of her abdomen, her fingers were tangled in his hair, nails scratching lightly across his scalp sending shudders down his spine.

He had never really enjoyed kissing, always did it more for the girls benefit rather than his, but kissing Carol was something else. The plumpness of her lips, the left over taste from her strawberry lip balm, the tiny little whimpers escaping her as she rocked her hips up into his were driving him insane.

"Wow," she breathed shakily as they broke apart for air.

"Yeah, wow," he agreed instantly latching onto her neck peppering soft kisses down to her collarbones.

She tugged forcefully at his shirt until he leaned up enough for her to yank it over his head, desperate to feel more of him she dragged her nails down his shoulder blades across the strong muscles of his back eliciting a growl from deep in his chest, a sound she was eager to hear over and over again. Pushing herself up she flipped him on his back, lifting her arms when he took the opportunity to remove her shirt too. He groaned as he gazed at her already bare chest, instantly palming her full breasts. She caught his lips with hers once again and pushed him flat on his back. She couldn't get enough of him, from the moment he kissed her it was like something inside her had been unleashed and she was powerless to control it.

Between his tongue in her mouth, his hands playing with her chest and the hardness of his dick grinding against her in just the right spot she already felt like she was going to explode. She bit hard on his lower lip drawing out one of the sexiest moans she'd ever heard. Trailing open mouthed kisses down his chest and stomach she reached for his belt buckle when his hands closed round her wrists stilling her.

"Are ya sure about this?" He already knew the answer but he needed to check. "It's gonna change everythin'."

"It's already changed Daryl," she said matter of factly.

She was right, even if they didn't sleep together tonight he could never go back to pretending he wasn't crazy about her, not after tasting and feeling her the way he just had. Releasing a shaky breath he let go of her wrists and brought his hands to her beautiful face, his thumbs caressing her cheekbones so softly. She turned to press a kiss to his palm before continuing to unbuckle his belt. Hooking her fingers under the waistband of his jeans and boxers she pulled until his erection sprang free, not wasting another moment or wanting them in the way later she dragged them down until his legs were free and tossed them aside.

She held back a moment to take in his completely naked form, he was unbelievably gorgeous. Without another thought she leaned forward to trail teasing kisses along his shaft, she listened as his breath caught in his throat and watched him fisting the duvet in anticipation. As soon as he felt her wrap her lips around him fully he expelled the breath he had been holding.

"Ohhhh fuck," he moaned throwing his head back into the pillow. He worked to control his breathing, amazed by the things she could do with her tongue. He buried his fingers loosely in her curls, not tight enough to hurt but just enough to show her the rhythm he liked.

He set the pace and lay back to enjoy the feel of her hot, wet mouth surrounding him, the vibrations from her throat as she moaned had his eyes rolling into the back of his head. When he next glanced down at her he felt his balls begin to tighten at the sight of her swollen lips bobbing up and down his length now glistening with her saliva. Not wanting it to be over so soon he gave a gentle tug on her curls signalling for her to stop.

"C'mere," He growled pulling her up to meet his hungry kisses. Hooking his arms underneath her thighs he flipped them over so that she was now on her back. Licking a trail down the valley of her breasts he ripped her sleep shorts and underwear down her legs so she was now as bare as him. He started a slow journey with his mouth from her ankle down the inside of her thigh and she caught on where this was going, panting down at him impatiently. Not that she didn't appreciate him wanting to return the favour, she absolutely did and she could only imagine how incredible he'd be at it but with how worked up she already was she doubted she'd last ten seconds. Using her foot she pushed against his chest before he could reach her core.

"Next time," she promised. "I right now I just want you to fuck me."

Daryl was sure he'd never been so turned on in his entire life. Crawling up over her he kissed her again forcefully, dipping two fingers inside her just to make sure she was really ready, groaning into her mouth as he felt the wetness coating them.

"Condom?" He asked breathlessly, continuing to move his fingers in out of her folds.

Carol reached over blindly feeling around her draw for the box of condoms. When she finally felt the box in her hand she yanked it out with so much force it's contents went flying across the room. Daryl couldn't stop the burst of laughter as he watched her eyes grow wide, obviously surprised by her own forcefulness.

"Damn," he chuckled as she covered her face in embarrassment. "In a hurry sweetheart?"

"Down there," she laughed pointing him in the direction of the condoms now scattered across the floor. He leaned over snatching up one of the silver packages before tearing it open with his teeth and rolling it down his length.

With his forehead pressed against hers he lined himself up at her entrance, he ran the tip up and down her folds a few times coating himself in her juices. She wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her heels into his ass urging him to hurry up and enter her. He took the hint and drove into her in one fluid motion. Carol's eyes slammed shut at the overwhelming feeling of him filling her, her mouth hung open as she whined. Daryl felt like he could hardly breathe and his arms trembled where he balanced himself on either side of her head. Lowering himself onto his forearms he buried his face in the side of her neck as he set a steady pace.

She learned quickly that he liked being scratched, every time she would claw her nails down the defined muscles of his back or twisted them in his messy hair he would emit that growl that had turned her on so much earlier. He would be covered in red marks by the time this was over but neither of them cared. The air around them was suffocatingly warm and their bodies were covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

With their foreheads pressed together and their noses brushing so tenderly he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her wondering if he could ever get enough her. She could tell he was going to cum, the thrusting of his hips had become erratic and his breath was coming out in short puffs, she knew he was desperately trying to hold on for her. Her orgasm was right there, she could feel it building slowly but she needed just that little extra help. She placed one hand on the side of his face, tilting his head so she could look into his beautiful blue eyes, her thumb stroking his temple adoringly, the other reached down between them to rub fast little circles on her clit. It only took a handful of strokes before she came crashing over the edge, the hand rubbing circles came up to the other side of his face, holding him there as he continued to fuck her through her release.

"Daryl... Daryl... Daryl..." she breathed his name over and over, barely audible.

The way her walls were squeezing him in the aftershock of her climax was too much and seconds later he was hitting his peak right there with her with a guttural moan. He continued to buck his hips weakly wanting to draw out their euphoria as long as possible. Eventually the trembling in his arms caused him to collapse on top of her, she giggled under his weight as she ran her fingertips delicately along his ribs. He peppered her face with kisses as they waited for their heart rates to return to normal, neither of them able to stop smiling.

"More than friends?" She asked, raising her eyebrow suggestively.

"Definitely more than friends."


End file.
